Water Lilies
by Plural Force
Summary: Yukimura meets someone who can't quite let go, either. Post-series, Tachibana and Yukimura friendship.


Original publishing date: September 14, 2008

Written for a Livejournal fic exchange a few years back. The pairing prompt was Tachibana/Yukimura, but I personally think the fic turned out more as a gen friendship thing... anyway, it's a bit of an odd pair, but I couldn't resist the challenge, and the result is something I'm still very fond of. Posted here unedited from the original LJ version (aside from the line breaks).

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis. (The ghost story that Tachibana tells is something I took from the _Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark_ series by Alvin Schwartz, which I also do not own.)

-ooo-

Yukimura gazes at the painting in front of him, eyes scanning over every detail, every brush stroke. He's stopped in front of a Monet in the Impressionism section of the exhibit (which is smaller than he would've liked, but it's still an exhibit, so he can't complain, not really). This close, he can see every color and every little detail of the painting, and if he wanted to, he could almost reach out and brush his fingers across the thick layers of paint, though surely that's not allowed.

Voices from his right snap Yukimura out of his reverie; he steps back to allow the family that's approaching some room, and to look around at the other paintings displayed on the wall. He can't help but be slightly annoyed as they come along- this family is much too loud for an art exhibit. He glances over at them. The mother is obviously the art enthusiast, and is exclaiming loudly at every new painting she comes across. One would think that someone with a true appreciation for art would be considerate of the others trying to view the exhibit, Yukimura thinks. At least the father seems to be trying to quiet her down, though. The two children, a boy and a girl about his age, are staying back a ways, obviously trying to pretend not to know their parents. Yukimura can't blame them.

He narrows his eyes at the other boy. Tall, rather well-built, very short blond hair. He looks familiar, Yukimura thinks.

The blond boy glances over at him and frowns slightly, apparently examining Yukimura's face as well. A moment later he blinks, and starts to walk over. "You're Rikkai's Yukimura, right?"

Yukimura blinks. He looks at the boy's face again. Then, suddenly, it clicks into place. "You're Tachibana," he replies. "From Fudomine."

"I've heard a lot about you," Tachibana says as he stops next to him, extending a hand by way of greeting. Yukimura shakes it.

"I suppose that's natural," he says neutrally- he's long since used to it. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there when my team played yours."

"Don't worry about it," Tachibana replies, smiling. He turns to the painting they're standing in front of, and Yukimura takes that as his cue to turn back as well. Soon, again, he's entranced by the myriad of colors dotted across the canvas.

Tachibana speaks up again after a minute. "Haystacks?"

Yukimura nods. "Haystacks."

Tachibana pauses. "...Why?" he asks. "Haystacks, I mean. I'm not an artist, so I don't really get it, but... why would an artist want to paint something like haystacks?" His tone sounds genuinely curious, not degrading in any way, Yukimura notes.

He shrugs slightly. "Who knows," he replies, eyes not moving from the painting. "Artists paint whenever inspiration comes. Maybe he saw something in them."

"Hm. ...I guess that makes sense." Tachibana nods, seeming to accept his explanation that's not really an explanation at all.

A voice from off to the left interrupts them. "Onii-chan! If you don't hurry up, we're going to leave without you!" Tachibana's sister calls.

"Alright, I'm coming!" Tachibana calls back. Then he turns back to Yukimura. "It was nice meeting you," he says.

Yukimura nods at him. "You too."

Tachibana continues after glancing over at his family for a moment. "If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to ask you for a match sometime, actually."

Yukimura raises an eyebrow in amusement. _Too much trouble...?_ Who does Tachibana think he's kidding?

"Of course it's not too much trouble," is what he says aloud. "I'm not doing much this summer, anyway." It actually doesn't sound like a bad idea, either; he's been looking for more opponents to play, and Tachibana is said to have been one of the top players. It might make for an interesting match. "When would be good for you?"

Tachibana thinks for a moment. "I'm free Wednesday morning," he offers.

And this is how Yukimura finds himself looking forward to a match with Tachibana Kippei.

-o0o-

Yukimura hates summer. He always has. He hates winter far more than summer, but that doesn't mean he can't dislike the summer as well. Summer is hot and sticky and uncomfortable. Summer means sitting around being hot and sticky and uncomfortable as opposed to going to classes and tennis practice. This particular summer means no tennis practice after the tournament is done- that's it, they're done, it's over.

Summer means heat. Yukimura doesn't like heat. He doesn't like winter, but he's never minded the cold; sticky summer heat, on the other hand, saps him of his energy and his strength and makes him less able than he was before. He hates feeling like that.

On the bright side- usually- summer also means Nationals. This is normally the reason he is able to like summer. But after this year's less-than-satisfactory defeat during finals, Yukimura wonders if maybe he's found another reason to hate summer after all.

-o0o-

Come Wednesday morning, Yukimura arrives at the place they agreed to meet only to find Tachibana already waiting. It's a little street court spot, not too far from Tachibana's house but rather out of the way for Yukimura, not that he minds much. They exchange friendly greetings- it's almost amusing, how polite both of them are being for a friendly match.

But then the tennis match starts. Yukimura serves first, and he doesn't hold back. Tachibana returns the serve, albeit with difficulty; it's then that Yukimura knows that this will be no easy match. Just how he likes it.

The first few games are a battle for the upper hand. Yukimura gains the advantage at first, as he's used to, but Tachibana determinedly fights back, resisting every step of the way.

With each step, each return of the ball, each miss, Yukimura can't help but notice that Tachibana is slightly different from his normal opponents. The play style almost reminds him of Akaya's in its fierceness, but Tachibana lacks the raw, bleeding emotion that Akaya has. Instead, he has more of a calmer power: composed on the surface, but beneath that, determined and almost vicious in his sharp returns and serves.

Yukimura observes all this with steely eyes as his shot cuts down the middle of the court, too fast for Tachibana to catch.

"You're never going to beat me," he murmurs, a smile on his lips. "But that doesn't mean I can't welcome you to try."

In the second half of the match, Yukimura pulls ahead and takes the lead, and Tachibana goes down fighting. In the end, Yukimura takes the set, but neither has any regrets.

They sit on a bench off to the side after the match, chatting.

"I mean, I knew you were good already, I've seen you play, but to actually play _against_ you is another thing entirely," Tachibana is saying.

Yukimura snorts. "You're nothing to laugh at, yourself," he comments. He's never cared much for flattery, not really, but Tachibana at least sounds sincere. "...And besides," he adds slowly, "I lost during finals, so I can't be all that incredible." He tries to make the words sound casual, but there still lingers that heavy feeling of bad memories Yukimura would rather forget.

Tachibana shrugs. "Everyone loses," he counters. "You're only human. And you'd just gotten out of the hospital recently, right? It's only natural that you wouldn't be at your best."

Yukimura sighs. "Somehow that feels more like an excuse than anything," he murmurs. After everything he went through for victory, all his hard work, to have it pushed aside like that...

"So if you're not satisfied, then get better."

Yukimura blinks at Tachibana in surprise.

"It's really just that simple. We all have regrets. Just get better, and win next time," Tachibana continues.

Yukimura's still looking at him in slight surprise. He thinks about saying something back to that, thinks about asking if Tachibana knows what it's like to almost lose everything.

But he realizes, from the look on his face, that Tachibana's been there.

-o0o-

Soon after that- too soon- the break is over and school has started back up again, and it's back to classes and homework for everyone, but the mugginess of summer still remains. For Yukimura, the start of the new term also means no more tennis- Akaya has taken on the role of captaincy now, although Yukimura silently plans to visit every so often to make sure he's handling it okay. Sometimes he thinks it would be better to just step down and let Akaya get a handle on the role himself, but he can't quite help it.

Lack of tennis practice also means that he now has an extraordinary amount of free time on his hands. Sure, he still trains by himself, but it's different. Now he only has his own practice to look after, instead of the rest of the team. It's the first time in three years, and Yukimura finds it a rather abrupt and not altogether welcome change of pace. It's odd, not practicing at the school's courts for hours every day anymore.

A few days into the new term, he's just leaving from observing the team's practice for a bit (he'd like to stay, even help, maybe, but he has his own training and homework to start on) when he spots a figure waiting by the front entrance of the school. Yukimura squints at the person. Short blond hair, tall, relaxed posture... Yukimura frowns slightly.

"I never would've expected a visit from you of all people, Tachibana," he calls out by way of greeting- his tone is neutral, but he's smiling slightly, as is natural. He's closer to the gate now, and Tachibana- yes, that's him, Yukimura is sure of it now- waves slightly in greeting.

"Yo," he says. "I came to return this." He holds out a worn, fuzzy green headband- Yukimura's, the one he always wears when he plays tennis. Yukimura stares at it; he's been wondering where the thing was.

"You left it at the street courts after we played," Tachibana explains. "I wanted to return it earlier, but I couldn't find the right time, and I don't know your address or anything..."

"No, it's fine," Yukimura murmurs, accepting the headband from Tachibana. He looks back up at him. "Thank you."

Tachibana nods. "No problem."

An awkward silence ensues after that. Yukimura is grateful for the return of the headband, and he doesn't want to make Tachibana turn around and go back after just returning such a small thing- it's a ways back to Tokyo- but at the same time, he doesn't know Tachibana well enough to just hang out with him. He's left standing awkwardly, wondering what to do.

Finally he gives in. "...There's a good café near here if you still have some time," he offers.

Spending time with Tachibana, whom he doesn't know very well, is much less awkward than Yukimura was expecting, as it turns out. Once they sit down across from each other and both order drinks, it's easy to settle into the atmosphere and just talk. They talk about tennis, about their teammates, about school and classes, about their lives and their interests and other random things in their lives. Yukimura finds himself enjoying their conversation.

Somewhere during this chat, the subject of the Impressionism exhibit comes up.

"So you like those types of paintings, huh?"

"Yes." Yukimura nods. He can't quite explain why; he just always has.

"Which ones are your favorites?" Tachibana asks, out of pure curiosity.

"Mm..." Yukimura pauses to think. "I've always liked Monet's water lilies," he says after a moment. "They're simple, and yet somehow very detailed. For some reason, I just... find them calming."

"Water lilies... that makes sense," Tachibana comments. He pauses. "...I still don't really get the haystacks thing, though."

Yukimura laughs.

-o0o-

He starts falling into the routine a bit more soon after that. He's still getting used to not having tennis practice, and school, and having to work again, and _no tennis practice_, but it's getting a little easier with each day. He sees less of Sanada and Renji now, but that's to be expected, he supposes.

Still, Yukimura finds himself observing the team's practice again a week later. He makes it a point not to come visit any more than once a week- it's not his team anymore, after all. He has to let Akaya stand on his own and take over.

So he's observing from the top of the stands, making sure not to get too close. It's difficult; even from up here, he can still see everything, each of the players' flaws, what all of them are doing wrong. Akaya obviously doesn't have a handle on leading the team yet, as well; a lot of the time he just gives up and shouts at them. He wants to go down there, to correct the players' forms, to give Akaya advice on how to be a good captain, but he knows he can't. He really should just leave, he knows, but it's something he can't quite help.

Yukimura spots something out of the corner of his eye, suddenly, and he turns to look. Standing a ways from himself are two boys, maybe in second year. One has dark red hair that falls over his eye; the other has long black hair and expressionless look on his face. Yukimura frowns slightly. That's not Rikkai's uniform they're wearing.

"You do know that outsiders aren't allowed to our practices, right?" he calls over to them casually.

The boys start as though they're the kids with their hands caught in the cookie jar. The two of them slowly turn to look at him. Yukimura just smiles.

"You're not part of the team nor this school, so I'm afraid you're going to have to leave."

The black-haired boy starts talking, softly and in a monotone. "You're asking us to leave? If we have to leave, then you should too. You're not down there practicing, so you're not part of the team either."

The redhead scowls at Yukimura. "He's right! You're not even on the team! You can't tell us if we have to leave, I bet you're just a freshman or something. Who _are_ you, anyway?"

Yukimura's smile freezes in place. "I'm hardly a freshman by now. Yukimura Seiichi, former captain of Rikkai's tennis team. Nice to meet you."

Yukimura watches with amusement as the redhead's eyes widen in horror. He sputters. "You're- _you're- Yukimura_?"

"And you two are...?" Yukimura enquires. Always best to know one's enemies.

Before either can answer, a shout from the courts below interrupts them. "OI!"

"I was wondering when he'd notice," Yukimura murmurs. Down on the courts, Akaya is glaring up at them.

"Fudomine! You're not allowed here! Get out!" Akaya yells.

The redhead glares down at him. "You don't have to yell across the court!" he shouts back.

"Kamio is yelling too," the black-haired boy mumbles. "Kamio shouldn't yell if he wants people to stop yelling."

"Well, that's what it'll take for you to _hear_ me! Now get out! No spies allowed!" Akaya waves his racket at them.

"All right, we get it already! You don't have to be _rude_!" Kamio, the redhead, looks like he's getting ready to march down to the courts. The black-haired boy is making no moves to stop him.

_That's enough of that._ Yukimura walks over to the two boys and puts a hand on Kamio's shoulder. "I think it'd be best if you two left now." He smiles at them, a smile that says 'don't argue with me.'

"Eh..." Kamio cringes at him, then looks back down at the courts.

"Kamio." The black-haired boy is mumbling again. "We should go. They know we're here already. We're not going to get any more information."

"...Damn." Kamio shakes off Yukimura's hand, then yells down at the court, "I won't forget this!" The two of them leave after that, muttering to each other as they walk away.

Yukimura stares after them. "So they're Fudomine..." he murmurs, a hint of a real smile on his lips.

-o0o-

It's becoming easier now. Going to school, keeping in shape on his own, he's getting more used to it after a few weeks. It's easy to fall into a routine, he thinks, even when that routine is something you're not used to.

On some days he goes over to study at Renji's house; other times he practices together with Sanada. Or maybe on some days Akaya will come up to him, looking for help on something or other. Nothing has really changed, for which Yukimura is grateful.

That still doesn't exempt him from occasional moments of oddness, though. Like the one weekend when, inexplicably, Yukimura's parents decide that they need to go camping.

"Have to get it done before the summer's over for good," his father says. Yukimura thinks it's an excuse for the whole family to spend more time together, but he doesn't say that aloud.

Which is how he finds himself sitting in the back of the family van on a Saturday afternoon, with only his sister and one of Renji's books to keep him company. He tries to focus on the book, but his mind keeps drifting to the ominous storm clouds outside and his parents' good-natured bickering in the front of the car. (His mother notes that they could've picked a weekend that doesn't look like rain. His father replies that rain will make it a more interesting experience. His mother remarks that he just doesn't want to turn back.)

The camping ground, when they get to it, is a quiet, secluded little spot in the middle of some sparse woods, with a small lake nearby. It has running water, and bathrooms a ways off (an official campground, not just some random spot in the middle of nowhere), and Yukimura thinks he sees some other camping spots not too far away.

After some trial and error, they finally manage to get the tents set up. Yukimura and his father are setting up one tent, while his mother and sister are putting up the other. His sister, Kana, tries to read off the instructions and put up the tent at the same time, a feat which proves difficult. Yukimura's father fumbles with the tent, and Yukimura has to stop him and say that no, dad, that pole goes _there_, and eventually they get it figured out.

Yukimura wanders off by himself for a bit after they set up the tents. He'd like to be alone for a bit, and besides, there's got to be _something_ to see around here. Maybe he'll run into some wild animals or something.

He stops in front of a particularly large tree. It's at least thirty feet tall, with a trunk half as wide as Yukimura is tall. He runs a hand over the trunk, looking up at it.

"I wonder how old this is..." he murmurs.

Footsteps crunch behind him suddenly, and Yukimura jumps. There are other people out here?

He turns around and starts in surprise.

Approaching from about ten feet off is Tachibana, of all people, with casual clothes on and a slightly stunned look on his face.

"Yukimura! Don't tell me you're camping here, too?"

"...I never realized Japan was this small," Yukimura mutters. What kind of crazy coincidence...?

Tachibana laughs. "It feels like that, yeah." He walks over to stand next to Yukimura beside the tree. "So, what, are you here for family bonding time, too?"

"Mm. That's what it feels like, anyway." Yukimura leans against the tree trunk. "My dad wanted us to go camping before the summer ends. Never mind that we could easily go any other time..."

They continue talking about mundane things for a little while. Yukimura learns that Tachibana's family is situated at a camping spot not too far from their own. The fact that both of their families would decide to visit this exact camping location on this particular weekend is a marvelous coincidence, and both of them boggle at it for a bit.

It's not long after that when Yukimura's mother- a petite, pretty woman- finds them, having wandered their way in search of her son.

"Seiichi, there you are!" she says as she approaches. "We were going to go swimming in the lake now." When she reaches the tree, she gets a better look at Tachibana. "...Oh, hello," she greets.

"Hi." Tachibana extends a hand. "I'm Tachibana Kippei. Nice to meet you."

"He plays tennis as well," Yukimura explains.

"Ahh. Well, that explains it." She gives Yukimura a knowing, amused look. "It's nice to meet you, Tachibana-kun. I take it you're also camping here?"

Tachibana nods. "Not too far that way," he says, motioning.

Yukimura's mom nods. "...Well, we were going to go swimming down by the lake, so we should go," she says at length. "Would your family like to come join us? If Seiichi has a friend he can hang out with, that's great." (Yukimura would call him more of an acquaintance, but that's beside the point.)

"I'll have to ask them first, but that would be great," Tachibana replies.

They part ways after that. After preparing, Yukimura and his family head down to the lake. His parents choose to sit on the beach, resting and watching; Kana hesitates in the shallows for a few minutes before splashing out deeper into the lake. The water is cold, and the rocks are slimy beneath Yukimura's feet, so he stays near shore, never wading in past his knees. He won't deny that he's enjoying himself, though; it's quiet out here, and oddly calming.

Splashing from off to the right alerts Yukimura, and he turns his head to look. Tachibana is wading over now, as he's not entirely surprised to see.

"My family is over there," he says, jerking one thumb over his shoulder. "I thought I'd come over and say hi."

Yukimura nods and smiles slightly.

"So how's life been going?" Tachibana continues.

"Mm." Yukimura shrugs. "I haven't been able to play as much as I'd like to. Other than that, it's been going fairly well."

It's Tachibana's turn to nod. "I know the feeling. It's weird to have to get used to, isn't it?"

"Mm." No more words are needed. The two of them wade back up near the shore and sit in the shallow water in companionship.

-o0o-

That night, as he sits at his spot by the campfire, Yukimura can't help but be surprised.

Their families run into each other sometime while they're at the lake. Yukimura's mom is happy to meet "the mother of one of Seiichi's friends," and she and Tachibana's mother get along instantly. Yukimura thinks she's more excited that she gets to make a new friend. Their fathers exchange greetings, and An and Kana seem to get along.

Tachibana and Yukimura just exchange a Look.

"If I had known it would end up like this..." Yukimura murmurs. Tachibana just laughs.

After that, one thing leads to another, and later that night, they find themselves all settled around a large fire by the Tachibana family's tents. Dark clouds still linger overhead, but nobody is paying attention to them; they're all too preoccupied. At the moment, Tachibana has their full attention.

"...So, he went out swimming in the river every night," Tachibana is saying. "When his two sons were born, he began teaching them how to swim. As soon as they were old enough, he began taking them out at night. Often they would stay out there in the river all night. The man's wife had to stay in the house all alone.

"After a while, she started acting strange. She would tell people that her husband was turning into an alligator, and that he wanted their sons to become alligators, too. Of course, nobody believed her- it was just swimming, they said, and everyone knows there are no alligators around here. But she kept saying it. Finally, early one morning, she ran into town from the river, soaking wet. She said that a big alligator and two little alligators had pulled her into the water- they were her husband and sons, she said, and they wanted her to join them."

Tachibana pauses for effect. "Well, the doctor thought she'd lost her mind. So he had her put away for a while. After that, her husband and sons disappeared. No one ever saw them again. Sometimes, though... sometimes, a fisherman would talk about seeing alligators in the river at night. One big one and two little ones. But everyone knew they were just making it up." He pauses again and looks around the circle. "Everyone knows there are no alligators around here. Right?"

He sits back, smiling slightly.

Long, slow clapping comes from Yukimura's father. Mostly everyone looks mildly impressed, although An is smiling as well. _She's heard this one before_, Yukimura thinks.

He also smiles a little. "That was good," he murmurs.

Tachibana grins at him. "We have a book of these at home somewhere," he says. "That's how I knew it."

"So much for going back to the lake," Kana says with a slightly nervous laugh.

Yukimura looks around the circle. "So whose turn is it next? I can always-"

"Hold up," his father interrupts, looking up towards the sky. "Is that rain?"

Yukimura looks up. As his father said, raindrops are drizzling down now. He should've expected that.

"It's not very hard," he says. "We should be fine."

They attempt to keep telling ghost stories- Yukimura's mother has one she wants to tell, so they start on that one. After a few minutes, though, it's raining noticeably harder, and their fire is dying. When it goes out completely in another minute or two, that's when they get up and start dashing for the tents.

Tachibana motions for Yukimura to follow him. "You can stay with us until the storm clears," he calls. "It's closer."

So he ducks into one of the two tents, along with An and Kana. The adults have all made their way to the other tent.

The four of them attempt to settle down comfortably in the small space. It's a little tight, but they manage. The rain is pounding down on the walls of the tent, so the experience is more than a little surreal.

"I've never seen it start raining so suddenly like that," Yukimura says. The others nod.

"That's nature for you," An says, shrugging. "Unpredictable."

Thunder rolls suddenly, loudly, and Kana jumps.

"...So do we want to continue telling ghost stories?" Yukimura asks at length. "It's not as if there's much else to do in here."

"Sure, why not," Tachibana agrees. "I'm sure we all have a few left."

"I'll start." Yukimura leans forward slightly, and the atmosphere in the tent changes.

"So a man lives in a house, alone, with his two dogs," he begins with a low voice. "Every night, he keeps his dogs outside, to stand guard. However, one night, as he's in bed, he swears he can hear a dog running around upstairs..."

They continue telling stories for quite a while; no one is quite sure how long, but after what has to be a good hour or two, the rain is still falling steadily. The ghost stories trickle off, and eventually it's decided that they'll just go to sleep here and wait out the storm during the night.

Yukimura, of course, can't sleep. He's always had difficulty falling asleep in unfamiliar places, and the sound of the rain isn't helping matters.

So Yukimura lays on his side, restless, and watches Tachibana. The latter fell asleep almost instantly; Yukimura's not sure how he can do it.

With nothing else to do, he continues watching Tachibana's sleeping face. He looks just as gentle asleep as he does awake; while Tachibana's smile usually has a slight edge to it, there's also a definite kindness there that Yukimura's noted. Interesting how it comes out even more when he sleeps, Yukimura thinks.

He keeps watching Tachibana for a little while. After some time, Yukimura eventually manages to fall asleep.

-o0o-

It's still dark when he wakes up again.

Restless, Yukimura peeks his head out of the tent curiously; the rain has stopped now, although mud is _everywhere_. He looks up and gasps slightly- all the clouds are gone now, and the stars are brighter than he's ever seen them before. In the city, normally, the stars are only partially visible; out here, however, they're stunningly bright.

Rustling from inside the tent catches Yukimura's attention, and he ducks back in. Tachibana is sitting up, half-awake, apparently having been disturbed by Yukimura's moving around.

"Tachibana," Yukimura murmurs to catch his attention.

"Nn- what is it?" Tachibana mutters back. Yukimura crawls out of the tent and motions for him to do so as well.

"...Oh wow," he comments as he climbs out, looking up at the sky.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Yukimura says softly. Tachibana nods. With nothing better to do, and nowhere better to sit, they go over to the circle of logs from their earlier fire and sit down there, looking up at the stars.

"You don't see these kinds of stars back at home," Tachibana says after a bit.

"Mm. It's because of all the light pollution in the cities," Yukimura replies. "Out here there's nothing to get in the way."

And so the two of them sit, occasionally making a comment, occasionally pointing out consellations or other things of interest, but mostly in comfortable silence. They stay that way until the sunrise.

-o0o-

The next day is relatively uneventful, except for the fact that nobody can decide what to do. There's a hiking trail nearby that they had been planning to go on, but with all the mud from the rain, Kana and both of their mothers would rather stay by the lake. Eventually they decide that the boys will go on the hiking trail, and the girls can stay behind and swim.

It's early afternoon when Yukimura, Tachibana, and their fathers set off down the trail. It's even more humid than normal, and mud is still everywhere, but the path itself isn't too difficult, so they fare just fine. Tachibana and Yukimura quickly manage to pull ahead and split off from their fathers (they both walk too slow), so mostly it's just the two of them. They fill the silence with scattered talking about various things.

"...Oh, that's right," Yukimura says at one point, remembering. "Rikkai happened to be visited by two of your teammates last week."

"Really?" Tachibana raises his eyebrows. "By who?"

"One of them was named Kamio. The other had long black hair." Yukimura motions at his own hair.

"Kamio and Shinji," Tachibana says, smiling and shaking his head. "I'm not surprised. What were they doing there?"

"Just scoping out our own team, I think," Yukimura says. "Akaya spotted them and started shouting, though, so it turned into a yelling contest."

Tachibana laughs. "So _that's_ why Kamio has been going on about him for the past week. He's been saying he wants revenge in the form of a match."

Yukimura raises an eyebrow and smiles. "Has to see who's better, hm? If you want to arrange something between them, I'm willing to help out. I know Akaya wouldn't mind too much."

"That'd be great. Here, you know what, give me your email address when we get back to the camp. We'll work it out during the week."

With that, the rest of the day passes quietly, even with the snake they find in the hiking path at one point. At the end of the day, the two families part ways, each having to go back to their respective lives after the weekend.

"Such a nice young man," Yukimura's mother comments as they're in the car on their way back. "You should invite him over sometime, Seiichi."

Yukimura nods, smiling slightly. "Perhaps."

-o0o-

A few days later, an email pops into his inbox.

To: Yukimura Seiichi  
From: Tachibana Kippei  
Subject: Match

Hi, Yukimura- I talked to Kamio about the match and he's definitely up for it. Is Saturday afternoon good on your end?

To: Tachibana Kippei  
From: Yukimura Seiichi  
Subject: Re: Match

saturday is fine for us. i'll see you then?

-o0o-

He runs into Niou and Yagyuu before class Friday morning.

"So, Yukimura," Niou starts, "what do you say to karaoke or something with the team tomorrow? Lame, I know, but it wasn't my idea."

Yukimura smiles at Niou's bluntness. "I'm sorry to say, I've already got plans for tomorrow."

"Oh, so suddenly he doesn't have time for us anymore? What, got a date or something?" Niou slings an arm around Yagyuu's shoulders casually. Yagyuu crosses his arms but doesn't push him away.

"You have absolutely no evidence of that, Niou," Yukimura says, amused.

Niou shrugs. "Don't have any evidence against it, either."

"...Akaya has a match tomorrow," he says after a moment. "I'm going along."

"Ahhh, tennis. That explains it," Niou says, nodding. "Because everything in Yukimura-land revolves around tennis, doesn't it."

Yukimura laughs.

-o0o-

Saturday afternoon finds him standing in the subway station, peering through the crowd of people for two in particular. Akaya's next to him, looking moody.

"Why do I have to do this now, Yukimura-buchou?" he complains.

Yukimura smiles slightly. "I'm not your buchou anumore, Akaya," he corrects.

Akaya huffs and looks away stubbornly. "Buchou is buchou."

At this, Yukimura laughs. "Anyway," he continues. "I thought you'd jump at the chance to play a decent opponent."

"But buchou!" Akaya protests. "It's _Fudomine_." The scornful tone of voice Akaya uses suggests exactly what he thinks of them.

"...It's true that they're not at Rikkai's level, but they're hardly terrible players, either," Yukimura says after a moment. "Besides, I hear Kamio's out for your blood now," he adds in an amused tone.

Akaya snorts. "He'll never beat me."

Yukimura nods, having expected this. A moment later, a familiar shock of blond hair in the crowd up ahead catches his eye.

Tachibana is the kind of person who stands out in a crowd, at least to Yukimura. It's not just his unusual height, or his brightly bleached blond hair. It's the way he carries himself with confidence, the way he can be rough and friendly at the same time in that boyish way Yukimura's so accustomed to. Perhaps it's how, when he grins at them from his place in the crowd, Yukimura can't help but smile back.

Tachibana reaches them after a minute, with Kamio just behind him. Kamio nods at Yukimura, then proceeds to start the typical glaring contest with Akaya.

"I won't lose to you," he says, and Yukimura can tell he means every word.

Akaya just sneers. "You can _try_ to beat me."

Yukimura and Tachibana just let the two bicker as they head for the local courts. Once arrived, they get them to agree long enough to decide who serves, but once the game's started Kamio and Akaya are back to their battle, this time taking it out on the tennis ball.

As the two of them play, Yukimura and Tachibana stand by the fences and watch the game, occasionally making comments about the opposite team's skill. Akaya has the advantage, has had it since the match started, but Yukimura can't count out Kamio just yet, either- his tenacity is something to be reckoned with.

It's the same kind of determination he saw in Tachibana, Yukimura realizes somewhere in the third game.

"Are all you Fudomine players that determined to win?" he asks out of curiosity, eyes never leaving the match.

"Most of them are, yeah," Tachibana replies. "It's probably because of the incident last year."

Yukimura nods. He's heard about it from Renji, master data gatherer that he is, about how the Fudomine players overthrew the upperclassmen who were treating them like dirt.

"That _would_ take determination," he agrees. And he can see it in Kamio's eyes as he plays, that fierceness. Tachibana's eyes were a reflection of that, he recalls.

He keeps watching them, noting that Akaya is also growing more serious as the match goes on. As it ends and Akaya wins the set, Yukimura wishes for a moment that it weren't over yet. He's seen far greater matches, been in far greater matches, but it's been so long since he's seen such fierce tenacity in both players. It's been too long since he's felt it himself, that sheer, exhilarating determination. It feels like it's been forever since he set foot on a tennis court.

Yukimura doesn't move from his watching spot as Kamio and Akaya return to the benches. He's still transfixed in thought. His fingers itch to grip the racket again. His muscles ache to run, to be pushed to their limits in a challenge. It hasn't been incredibly long- he played against Sanada late last week, when neither of them were busy- but it still feels like much too long and much too far in between.

"Tachibana," Yukimura murmurs, glancing over at him.

Tachibana's grinning at him. "Sure, why not," he says.

Kamio and Akira are still bickering at each other (Kamio claiming that the next time he'll defeat Akaya miserably, Akaya sneering that results are results and that Kamio's just a sore loser) when the two of them enter the court. Yukimura walks over to Akaya, smiling slightly.

"Akaya, would you mind lending me your racket?"

Akaya glances over at him, brow furrowing. "Buchou?"

"We can't let you two have all the fun, can we?" Tachibana says as he joins them. "You did well, Kamio," he adds in a softer tone, one hand on his shoulder. Kamio looks away with anger and bitter disappointment still in his eyes, but he nods anyway.

The atmosphere changes when the two of them step onto the court, their juniors' rackets in hand. One could probably cut the tension with a knife at this point, up until the very moment when Tachibana sends the ball into play. Then it's a fast-paced battle of wills, right from the start. It's much like the last time they played, except not- different plays, different shots and scores, but that same determination, like the feeling during Kamio and Akaya's match except amplified between the two of them.

Yukimura for one is more intent than ever. Tachibana is no easy opponent, and that's just what Yukimura wants. That's the one thing he doesn't like about being "the best of the best": he rarely finds opponents that he can really push himself while playing against. There are his teammates, yes, but he knows them so well that he could likely imitate all of their shots if he so desired.

Which is why, about an hour later, as night falls and the overhead lights flicker on, they're still going all out against each other, neither one willing to give an inch. Yukimura is deliberately pushing Tachibana, and Tachibana's pushing right back.

The game eventually ends- Yukimura's victory, but a close match all the same- and leaves Yukimura feeling slightly regretful that it's over but grinning all the same. In reality there's no logical explanation for why he feels so alive right now, but he's been too absorbed in the game to really care.

As they shake hands over the net and then part ways, Akaya talking at him about the matches as they leave, Yukimura decides that it was worth tagging along for.

-o0o-

To: Yukimura Seiichi  
From: Tachibana Kippei  
Subject: Thanks

I wanted to say thanks again for helping arrange that match last week. Our match afterwards was enjoyable, too. Maybe if you're interested we could get together again sometime, either for tennis or just to hang out.

To: Tachibana Kippei  
From: Yukimura Seiichi  
Subject: Re: Thanks

the match last week was no problem. akaya really didn't mind it as much as he says he did, by the way.

getting together again eventually would be lovely. i'm free most of the time, feel free to let me know and we'll figure something out.

-o0o-

Very soon after that, it gets less hot and muggy and summer starts to fade, transitioning into fall. It's getting cool enough to wear warmer clothes now, and red starts to tint the leaves.

Yukimura isn't sure how he feels anymore about seeing the summer go. Yes, it was still hot and muggy and miserable and awkward- that part he can't deny. But somehow there was something different about this summer, something that made it less unbearable. Perhaps it was the joy of finally getting to play all out again in a match, perhaps it was something else. He's not quite sure. But either way, he can't say he hated it completely.

One day, several weeks after the match with Tachibana, Yukimura gets a postcard in the mail. The painting on the front is easily recognizable: Monet's water lilies.

"I saw this and it reminded me of you," is printed in firm, blocky letters on the back.

The sender doesn't write his name. He doesn't have to.

Yukimura props it up on his desk in plain sight.

-end-


End file.
